The History of Coffee
The word "coffee" comes from Kaffa, a region in Ethiopia where
coffee beans may have been discovered.

Coffee faced considerable resistance in many cultures over
the centuries. It was blamed for, among other things, fueling
riots, spawning seditious speech and even encouraging Satan
worship.

During the 16th century, the Mufti of Constantinople forbade
drinking coffee. Users in Cairo and Mecca also faced prohibitions.
And in Turkey, where coffee drinking was banned as well, those
caught taking the forbidden drink after a second offense supposedly
were sewn into leather bags and dumped into the Bosporus Strait.

The "cappucino" was created when 17th century priest Marco
d'Aviano rallied Christian armies to drive the Ottoman Turks
from Vienna in 1683. When the Turks left Italy, they allegedly
left behind their notoriously bitter coffee. The Viennese added
milk and named the resulting concoction after the religious
order of their priest -- Capuchin.

Lloyd's of London, the world-renowned insurer, started out
in 1688 as Edward Lloyd's Coffee House, which underscores the
central role coffee played in trade and commerce.

Coffee Today
More than 500 billion cups of coffee are served worldwide each
year.

Two main species of coffee cherries in cultivation yield two
kinds of beans, arabica and robusta. More than
two-thirds of the world's coffee comes from the arabica bean.
The robusta bean is hardier and cheaper to grow, but its taste
is considered inferior.

More than half of all Americans over the age of 18 -- 107
million people -- drink coffee daily. On average, U.S. coffee
drinkers consume three and a half cups a day apiece.

Scandinavia boasts the highest per-capita coffee consumption
in the world. In Finland, people drink more than four cups of
coffee a day on average.

The Coffee Economy
Coffee is the world's second-most-valuable commodity exporting
by developing countries, after oil. The global coffee industry
earns an estimated $60 billion annually. Less than 10 percent
of those earnings end up in the hands of coffee farmers.

Profits for coffee-producing countries have declined dramatically.
In 1985, for example, 38 cents of every dollar spent on coffee
in the United States returned to producing countries. By 1995,
that share dropped to 23 cents -- a 40 percent fall.

During the same period, the price consumers paid for their
coffee increased by more than 30 percent.

By January 2003, the average price of coffee on the commodities
market was 54 cents per pound, the lowest price for coffee (adjusted
for inflation) in 100 years. Fewer than six years before, coffee
was selling for $3.15 per pound, nearly six times higher, on
the New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange.

In Central America alone, as many as 600,000 coffee farmers
and workers have lost their jobs as a result of the coffee crisis,
according to World Bank estimates.

Four major conglomerates -- Nestlé, Philip Morris,
Procter & Gamble, and Sara Lee -- dominate world coffee markets,
accounting for 60 percent of U.S. sales and 40 percent of the
global coffee trade.

Coffee is grown in more than 50 countries in South America,
Central America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Nearly 25 million
farmers worldwide depend on growing coffee for their economic
livelihood.

Global coffee production in 2002/2003 is expected to reach
record levels: 122 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee beans
(16.1 billion pounds).

Fair trade coffee meets several criteria. Growers must be
organized into democratically run cooperatives. The cooperatives
must agree to independent inspections. They also must use sustainable
methods of agriculture. In return, the growers are guaranteed
a living wage of at least $1.26 per pound for their coffee (15
cents more if it is grown without pesticides).

Although fair trade coffee constitutes only 2 percent of the
world's coffee supply, consumer demand for fair trade coffee
has grown in the United States -- from 1.9 million pounds imported
in 1999 to 6.7 million pounds imported in 2001.

Revenue from fair-trade-certified coffee in the United States
and Canada exceeded $64 million in 2000, which was a 50 percent
increase from the previous year.

Since 1999, 13 million pounds of fair trade coffee has been
imported into the United States, yielding an estimated $10 million
in additional revenue for the farmers growing fair trade coffee.

In April 2000, retail coffee giant Starbucks agreed for the
first time to carry fair-trade-certified whole bean coffee.

According to TransFair USA, more than 600,000 producers, in
more than 32 countries, who sell coffee, tea and cocoa make
their goods available through fair trade. There are more than
300 fair trade cooperatives worldwide for coffee alone.